Zhao was born in Zhaozhou County, Heilongjiang and moved to Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture's capital city Yanji with his family when he was still a boy.
In December 2006, Zhao transferred to Chinese Super League side Shenyang Ginde with a fee of ¥3 million.
However, on 1 July, he suffered a torn medial collateral ligament in his left knee when he played with China U-23 against Cameroon U-23 in South Africa, ruling him out for the rest of the season.
On 5 May 2011, after three years out, Zhao started and played the full ninety minutes against Shenyang Dongjin in the first round of the 2011 Chinese FA Cup.
[8] Zhao was called up for China U-20 in the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship held by Netherlands and acted as starter in center back position with Feng Xiaoting.